Three years after his maiden Dakar success, Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Team/ Michelin) finished on top again to earn Michelin’s 36th victory on the cross-country classic, as well as KTM’s 18th on the trot in association with the French tyre firm. The Australian finished clear of his team-mate and last year’s victor Matthias Walkner, while Sam Sunderland (Red Bull KTM Factory Team/Michelin) made it an all-KTM/Michelin top three.

After winning last season’s visit to Marrakech, Mahindra Racing finished on top again this time around thanks to Jérôme d’Ambrosio who was joined on the podium by Envision Virgin Racing’s Robin Frijns and Sam Bird. Antonio Felix da Costa tangled late in the race with his BMW I Andretti Motorsport team-mate while leading, and defending champion Jean-Eric Vergne (Techeetah) span at the race’s first turn.

FIA WEC - Toyota and Michelin win in rainy Shanghai

FIA WRC - Sixth WRC title for Ogier and Toyota’s fourth, all with Michelin

After claiming the season’s opener in Qatar, Andrea Dovizioso concluded the 2018 MotoGPTM World Championship with victory in Valencia. The Italian was unfazed when the race was red flagged due to heavy rain and he went on to finish clear of Alex Rins (Team SUZUKI ECSTAR/Michelin) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing/Michelin).

The thrilling 2018 Michelin® Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix (Round 17 of the MotoGPTM World Championship) was won by Maverick Viñales. The Yamaha rider was joined on the Phillip Island podium by Andrea Iannone (Ecstar Suzuki Team/Michelin) and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team/Michelin) who made it three different bikemakers in the top three.

Viñales, who qualified second on the grid, chose soft and hard MICHELIN Power Slicks front and rear for the race but completed the first of the afternoon’s 27 laps down in eighth place. However, an absorbing fightback saw the factory Yamaha rider ease into the lead on Lap 8 before a sequence of quick laps – including the fastest of the race (1m29.632s) on Lap 10 – enabled him to pull out a decent gap over his chasers. With 10 laps remaining, he was more than three seconds clear and he went on to beat second-placed Iannone over the line by 1.5s.

It was the Spaniard’s first victory since last season’s French GP and his fifth in motorcycle racing’s premier series. It was also Yamaha’s first success since Valentino Rossi’s win at Assen in 2017.

Spectators were kept on their toes by a superb scrap for second place involving Iannone, Dovizioso, Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP/Michelin), Alvaro Bautista (Jorge Lorenzo’s stand-in at Ducati), Alex Rins (Ecstar Suzuki Team/Michelin) and Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing/Michelin) who completed the first lap of his home race at the front of the field.

Rossi, Bautista, Dovizioso and Iannone took turns to appear in second spot, but it was Iannone who finally secured the position for good on Lap 23 to finish ahead of Dovizioso.

Bautista was fourth, while Rins stole fifth place from Rossi on the last lap.

The newly-crowned world champion Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda Team/Michelin) claimed his fifth straight pole position at Phillip Island but was eliminated on Lap 6 after a high-speed tangle with Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3/ Michelin) which also brought down the Frenchman.

Four of the six available MICHELIN Power Slick options were raced in Australia, with only the hard front and medium rear failing to be selected.

Dovizioso’s result has strengthened his grasp on second place in the provisional Riders’ standings in which he is now 15 points clear of third-placed Rossi.

Round 1 of the 2018/2019 Formula E Championship in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, was won by Antonio Felix da Costa. The Portuguese BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver was joined on the podium by Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah/Michelin) and Jérôme d’Ambrosio (Mahindra Racing/Michelin).

A number of key decisions were taken at the FIA World Council meeting that was held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on December 5. Many of them referred to some of the global championships in which Michelin is active, namely the WEC, WRC and Formula E.

The N°7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid/Michelin of Conway/Kobayashi/Lopez and the N°8 sister car of Buemi/Alonso/Nakajima collected another one-two finish for the Japanese make in the FIA WEC as torrential rain greeted teams to Shanghai, China. Michelin scored its 50th LM GTE Pro class victory in the championship with the N°95 Aston Martin (Sorensen/Thiim).